I decided to take another stab at creating a hopefully better sounding version of this song,  as it seems the message is relevant in these troubled times.  

I hope that heaven is a place where everyone can share the same space and  liberals and conservatives can exist in perfect harmony. Cause if you live a good life and you seal the deal and you end up in heaven how are you going to feel, if  when you get there there’s people who want to argue with you about politics
***
Why can’t we all just all get along
Why can’t we live and let be
Why can’t we all just all mind our own business
And agree to disagree
***
Will you let it go or will you keep on fighting even after your first Saint Peter sighting, or will you check the TV to see if there’s CNN or Fox News in Heaven. They had to pry your gun from your cold dead hand but now that you’re a soul in a spiritual land, will you still demand your second amendment rights to protect yourself in heaven.
***
Why can’t we all just all get along
Why can’t we live and let be
Why can’t we all just all mind our own business
And agree to disagree
*****
I hope that in in heaven you can eat real steak with a bunch of vegans eating meat that’s fake, as you pose for a photo with Jesus trying to re-enact that painting of the last supper.
If you bump into that undocumented guy who you sent back to his country will you look him in the eye. Will you tell he’s not welcome in the United States part of heaven?
***
All these people with extreme positions shouting to their hearts content
Like demented performance artists in a circus tent
They can try to push our buttons be we don’t have to let them
They can invite us to their party but we don’t have to show up.
***
Why can’t we all just all get along
Why can’t we live and let be
Why can’t we all just all mind our own business
And agree to disagree

Heaven 2025

So nice that my longtime collaborator friend @dough-factory has returned to SoundCloud after a break of a couple years! This is our first track working together since then and it came together in a really cool way. I was inspired by Ryan's electronic drums and bass to lay down some rhythm guitar as well as a few synth leads. Then he came up with some awesome lyrics/vocals that I think captures the vibe of this piece quite well.

Keep an eye out for more from us, we are thinking of pulling together a whole album or EP over the coming months.

Dive

😷 A raw and honest J-Pop ballad about the masks we wear and the courage to show our true selves. For everyone who's ever hidden pain behind a smile.

LYRICS: (Japanese)

また　うまく笑えた気がする
鏡の中の僕は　きっと優等生だ
「元気そうだね」って　誰かが言うたび
胸の奥のざらつきが　そっと黙り込む

本当の気持ちなんて　言わないのが大人だって
誰が決めたんだろう

微笑みの仮面をかぶって
今日もまた　うまく生きてるふりをしてる
痛みを知られたくなくて
強がってる僕を　君は見抜いてたね

すれ違う人の目を　避けながら歩く
「大丈夫です」って　繰り返す防衛本能
優しさは時に　刃より鋭くて
心の奥の柔らかいとこ　切り裂いてく

泣きたくなる夜ほど　誰にも会いたくなくて
誰かを求めてる

微笑みの仮面がひび割れ
隠してた涙が　頬を伝っていく
壊れることを恐れて
壊れかけた僕を　君が救ってくれた

何も言わず　ただ隣にいてくれた
その沈黙が　本当の声に聞こえた

もう仮面なんか　いらない
素顔の僕を　君に見せたいんだ
たとえ　不器用な表情でも
笑える日が来ると　信じてみたいから

誰もがきっと　何かを隠してる
その優しさに　今日も救われている

---

(English Translation)

On the day I pretended not to notice,
your voice wavered like a trembling flame.
I searched for the right words,
but they slipped through my fingers like grains of sand.

The sky was too bright to look up at,
so I kept my gaze on the asphalt instead.
The truth hid behind a smile,
a mask I couldn’t take off.

The mask of a smile—
it’s worn so well, even I start to believe it.
Even the sadness deep in my chest
becomes something I show no one.

The clock’s ticking sounds cruel
in a room without you.
The more I try to fill the emptiness,
the more it echoes in the dark.

We were chasing the same dream once,
running without looking back.
But somewhere along the way,
our paths began to fade apart.

The mask of a smile—
so no one will notice the cracks.
If I could bare my heart just once,
would you still stay by my side?

Even if the night steals away the colors,
I’ll keep a small light alive inside.
Someday, when I can face myself,
I’ll take off this mask and call your name.

The mask of a smile—
today, it’s still on my face.
But if your hand reaches out to me,
I might find the courage to remove it.

Until that day comes,
I’ll keep walking with this mask of a smile.

---

Sometimes we all wear masks to protect ourselves, but true connection happens when we find the courage to be vulnerable. This song is for anyone ready to take off their mask.

#AuthenticSelf #SaturdayReflection #JapaneseMusic

Behind the Smile

Cast of characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, composition
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ and synth
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken — drums and percussion
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- clavinet, VST saxophone solo, VST horns, effects, production editing
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Telecaster HHS electric guitrar
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals and lyrics

This song began back at the beginning of the summer, when Josh was messing around on his electric piano and found a structure to which to add his bass. As soon as he opened the project to the rest of Eclectic Collective, JJ jumped right in, adding his thrilling organ and ethereal background synth. Thus, Josh dropped his original e. piano part in favor of JJ's new parts. Ken was next up, adding the drums in reverse order from how he and Josh usually do it. Ken is very skilled at being able to add drums to a pre-existing bass line, which he displays in here. He also added the clever auxilary percussion you hear throughout. Mark was next to the trough, adding his funky clavinet, as well as his sax solo you hear lighting it up in there. He also added some well composed horns toward the end, not to be confused with JJ's synth. 
  Then it was time for the guitarists to do their thing. Stephen added the strong, melodic solos in the first two breaks with his guitar and wah pedal. After Tez added his thrilling solos at the end, Stephen went back in and added the funky rhythm guitar part. Tez also added the funky guitar riffs throughout the verses.
  All that was left was to get Carl in on the action, as he is the newest core member of Eclectic Collective. He wrote a poem and sung it in his signature, wild style for us.
  This is Eclectic Collective at its almost full strength, pulling six musicians from two different continents and four different countries together to create a song. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
   On a side note, this will be Eclectic Collective's last song for two weeks. As most of you know, we release a song every Thursday at midnight. Due to vacation and travel at the end of summer, we'll be skipping  next Friday, the 15th, but should be returning the following Friday, the 22nd. We may also put something out this coming Tuesday, the 12th, so please stay tuned. Can't thank enough those of you who tune in regularly and support us every week. 
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:



The Get Down - The Eclectic Collective

Between the Worlds

The Hidden

Japanese traditions:festival drums and fireworks!

YOMATSURI (TAMAYAH!)

Lyrik: (The English translation is below the German lyrics)
Sieben Komma acht drei Hertz
Pulsiert durch meine Zellen
Die Frequenz von Kopf und Herz
Erdmagnetische Wellen

Ionosphäre tanzt mit Blitz
Zwischen Himmel und der Erde
Ein elektromagnetischer Witz
Dass ich Teil des Ganzen werde

Disconnected war mein Geist
Bis die Resonanz mich fand

Wir schwingen mit dem Planeten
Synapsen synchronisiert
Alpha-Wellen wie Gebete
Die Erde dirigiert

Tesla wusste, Schumann maß
Was die Mystiker schon ahnten
Meditation trifft Wissenschaft
Auf denselben Frequenzbahnen

Dein Nervensystem schwingt mit mir
Mein Theta-Zustand spiegelt dich
Verschränkte Quanten, ich und wir
Die Grenze löst sich auf für mich

Vom ersten Atmen an verbunden
Mit jedem Baum und jedem Stein
In Hertz gemessen, nicht in Stunden
Getrennt sein ist nur Schein

Das erste Atmen nach dem Sturm
War Einklang mit der Welt
Kein isolierter Turm
Der außerhalb sich hält

Sieben Komma acht drei
Wir sind frei

English translation:
Seven point eight three hertz
Pulsing through my cells
The frequency of my head and heart
Geomagnetic waves

The ionosphere dances with lightning
Between heaven and earth
An electromagnetic joke
That I become part of the whole

My mind was disconnected
Until resonance found me

We vibrate with the planet
Synapses synchronised
Alpha waves like prayers
The Earth conducts

Tesla knew, Schumann measured
What the mystics already sensed
Meditation meets science
On the same frequency channels

Your nervous system vibrates with me
My theta state mirrors you
Entangled quanta, me and us
The boundary dissolves for me

Connected from the first breath
With every tree and every stone
Measured in Hertz, not in hours
Being separate is only an illusion

The first breath after the storm
Was harmony with the world
No isolated tower
Standing outside

Seven point eight three
We are free

Schumann Resonanz

ΠΙΕΣΤΟ

  This song has a totally made up lyrics about nobody real, all in my imagination. I wanted to write like an "Eleanor Rigby" type of song about loneliness, mental illness, and old age. Just following that type of format. Words came first and then I wrote the music. Which gives it that creepy vibe with a falling cliche bass line. Very eerie and haunting, trying to capture that getting old by yourself ambiance! I wrote it during the pandemic, so the scene was set! I added organ, guitars, bass, and a bunch of other instruments pre-pandemic and Charlie came over and added the vocals and a harmonica track post-pandemic. Great job by him on both accounts. So it just sat around for 3 years just gathering digital dust!😂 I never thought it was that good because the timing seemed off to me, probably because I had forgotten how it went after 3 years! Not our best effort I think. If you watch the video it will make more sense.

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/H6TuC5eYUD4

     The video was challanging and I spent a ton of time on it, about a week last year. I made it about 2 people, both named Amanda, hence the title "Amanda, Amanda". The name was suggested by my wife who loves the name Amanda. The first Amanda was a middle aged woman wandering around at night in a forest with a torch and crying herself to sleep but the second Amanda was an elderly woman that quite frankly had gone a little bit crazy due to the lonliness. We can all relate especially during the pandemic! I tried to show that in the video. There's a ton of eye-candy in the video. It's a haunting tale and a haunting song. Thanks so much for visiting and take care everyone! Let's all try not to end up like either Amanda! 🙏😎✌🏼

“AMANDA, AMANDA”

AMANDA,
HAVE YOU SAID ALL YOUR PRAYERS TODAY?
FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY,  
      
AMANDA,             
IS THAT LONELINESS IN YOUR EYES?      
IS LIFE SLOWLY PASSING YOU BY?
YOU CAN'T DENY,

AMANDA, AMANDA,
SITS AND WAITS YEAR AFTER YEAR,
AMANDA, AMANDA,  
NO ONE'S THERE TO WIPE HER TEARS,
WHEN SHE CRYS, NO ONE HEARS,
AMANDA, AMANDA,
AND LIKE A GHOST SHE'LL DISAPPEAR,
  
AMANDA,
IS YOUR MAILBOX EMPTY AGAIN?       
NO PHONE CALLS FROM LOVERS OR FRIENDS,
WHY PRETEND?       
      
AMANDA, AMANDA,
SITS AND WAITS YEAR AFTER YEAR,
AMANDA, AMANDA,  
NO ONE'S THERE TO WIPE HER TEARS,
WHEN SHE CRYS, NO ONE HEARS,
AMANDA, AMANDA,
LIKE A GHOST SHE'LL DISAPPEAR,
YEAH LIKE A GHOST SHE'LL DISAPPEAR,
OH LIKE A GHOST SHE'LL DISAPPEAR,
HMM LIKE A GHOST SHE'LL DISAPPEAR.

BY JIM VALDES
© 2021

"AMANDA, AMANDA" (Video - https://youtu.be/H6TuC5eYUD4)

My Story

All This Love

**I NEVER USE A.I. IN ANY OF MY SONGS!** Hi everybody, my name is Jim and I’m a songwriter, I've written over 300 songs, I play guitar, bass, piano, and am an okay lyricist.  I play all types of music and have my own recording studio.  I use no A.I. or DAW or any computers to make my songs, all the instruments are played by me live on a multitrack studio recorder and Charlie, my vocalist, sings most of my songs and also plays the Harmonica on several tracks. I'm not a pro or a great musician but I do what I can with the tools that I have! I belong to the "Keep Humans In Music Movement" (KHMM)! We're NOT perfect but we're REAL! Thanks everyone for listening and the world needs more music now, real music made by HUMANS not MACHINES! So let's all sing a song with our own voices, please! I do not consent to any of my songs or videos being used or sampled or lifted in any way or fashion. Take care!👍😎✌🏼.

"AMANDA, AMANDA" (Video - https://youtu.be/H6TuC5eYUD4)

MIAMI JEFF